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Tui Snider
Tui Snider

Tui Snider

Inquisitive world traveler who writes books, gives talks & leads tours through historic cemeteries. My homebase is Texas, where I share a goth/tiki castle with my mad scientist husband & tabby cat. For my newsletter & more visit: TuiSnider.com En savoir plus🇺🇸United States
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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Rock Church

    5 juillet 2022, Finlande ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    It’s difficult to convey the interior of Helsinki’s Temppeliaukio Church. It’s built deep into the bedrock. The roof slats made me feel like I was standing under a huge mushroom. It’s a popular concert hall, too, and is known for its excellent acoustics.En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Big Christopher

    4 juillet 2022, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    The following text is from a plaque:

    LEGEND OF RIGA
    "Once upon a time, long ago, before the city of Riga was founded, a tall strong, man named Lielais Kristaps (Big Christopher) carried people across the river Daugava.

    Kristaps lived in a cabin on right bank of the river. While sleeping one night, Kristaps heard a small child crying on the other side of the river. He immediately rose to fetch the child, and began to carry it across the river.

    Halfway across, the child became so heavy that Kristaps barely managed to get to the other bank. Exhausted, he laid the child down to sleep in his shack, and fell asleep himself.

    The following morning Kristaps awoke to find a large chest of gold coins where the child had been. Upon his death, the money was used to found the city of Riga, the first building was build on the spot where Kristaps cabin had once stood."

    Gints Upitis in 1997 made copy of the original wooden sculpture built by Michael Brinkman in 1683. (The original statue is
    located in Museum of History of Riga and Navigation.)    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Bread flavored ice cream?

    4 juillet 2022, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    I’m on a quest to find black rye bread flavored ice cream here in Riga today, but so far I’m striking out. There’s also a dessert featuring cranberries and dark rye bread that intrigues me.

    Latvian cuisine sounds really interesting. They use a lot of fermented foods, too, fermented cabbage as well as dairy. You could say these folks are highly cultured both gastronomically as well as historically.

    As for this hamburger poster, I wondered if “beckona”means bacon?    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Amber jewelry

    4 juillet 2022, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    When traveling, photos and journal are my main souvenirs. That said, when we come across local artisans selling regionally made items, I like to buy a trinket or two.

    Today we stumbled upon a small craft market in the shadow of a church where I purchased some amber jewelry from this friendly woman.En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Freedom Way

    4 juillet 2022, Lettonie ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    The legacy of war and oppression is everywhere you look in Riga, Latvia. Larry and I saw several canons repurposed by doorways as we wandered through the old part of town.

    Riga offers many museums dedicated to various aspects of a difficult history: The Museum of Barricades, The KGB Museum, The Museum of Latvian Occupation (Soviets and Nazi Germany are the focus there), and The Museum of War, just to name a few.

    One of the main boulevards here has been named after various conquerors over the years: Alexander, Stalin, Hitler. It’s currently called “Freedom Way.”    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Anna…

    3 juillet 2022, Lituanie ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    I know her name is “Ann,” but beyond that I’m not sure. I often kinda space out when taking photos. It’s like I can’t fully see and hear at the same time.

    Does that ever happen to you?

    Ah, well… More research for later!    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Land of Blondes & Bikes

    1 juillet 2022, Danemark ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Skagen: Land of Blondes and Bikes

    At the northernmost tip of Denmark you can walk to the tip of a sandbar and see exactly where the Baltic Sea meets the North Sea. This sandbar is just outside the town of Skagen, which is also the main fishing port for the country.

    In summer months, Danes and foreigners flock to this tidy little seaside town, which is flat, walkable, and full of bikes and blondes.

    Nearly every building in the city center is painted a distinctive shade of yellow, with white trim. (This homogeneity adds to the charm, but if you don’t have a good sense of direction, the winding lanes could get you turned around.)

    The yellow hue is known as “Skagen yellow,” and for good reason. Influenced by painters such as Monet, a group of Danish artists created a haven here in the 1800s.

    The Skagen School as they were known, would meet up in summer, setup easels in public parks, the beach, and cafes, then paint whatever they saw, thereby creating lasting images of daily life from days gone by. (If you enjoy impressionist paintings, look them up. I especially enjoy the beach scenes with dappled light playing up women strolling along the sand in long dresses.)

    Skagen is also a popular birdwatching spot with 367 of Denmark’s 600 bird species coming through here. I saw (and heard) several birds while exploring the local cemetery, but I didn’t take time to ID them.

    Back on the ship, however, Larry and I learned of an avian stowaway. A pretty little pigeon hopped aboard in Southampton and found all the windows and doors rather baffling. Today, a deckhand managed to lure him outside with a trail of bread crumbs.

    Wonder how he will fare in Skagen?    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Skagen Cemetery

    1 juillet 2022, Danemark ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Much like the town itself, Skagen’s city cemetery is extremely tidy. Crisply trimmed hedges define each plot, and wide paths laid out at right angles allow bicycles and pedestrians to easily pass through.

    A variety of plants are used as hedges, everything from yew and juniper, to maple and beech. Nearly every plot is planted with flowers, with lavender and roses being the most popular. Since both were in bloom during our visit, the smell was lovely.

    Similar to Norway, hoses and watering cans are in easy reach for all to use. During our visit, we saw locals cycle up, grab a watering can and use it to tend their family plot.

    A few unique features to Skagen Kirkegårde include ceramic hedgehogs decorating several plots, tall strands of stones, and a pathway strewn with old bouquets left to dry in the summer sun.    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Out of Africa

    1 juillet 2022, Danemark ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Have you ever read “Out of Africa”? Maybe you saw the movie adaptation of this book?

    The book was written in Skagen, Denmark by Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke, although if you’re American you probably know her by the pseudonym “Isak Dinesen.”

    I’ve never read the book or seen the movie, but after visiting Skagen, I am now interested in both.

    Whatever you want to call her, the same woman also wrote “Babette’s Feast.” I’ve never read that book either, but it’s one of the best food movies I’ve ever seen.

    Are you familiar with her work?    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJuly 2022Voyageur

    Skagen Kirke

    1 juillet 2022, Danemark ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Unsurprisingly, Skagen Kirke (Skagen Church), is painted the traditional shade of yellow called “Skagen yellow” that I mentioned in my previous post.

    The church dates from 1910, and like many seaside churches, models of ships that have been prayed for by the congregation hang from the ceiling.

    Rather than a crucifix, a painting of Jesus in the manger is the main feature at the front altar. What I found most intriguing were the designs at the end of each pew. I saw similar designs on some headstones in the local cemetery, too.    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJune 2022Voyageur

    Offline Travel Journal

    27 juin 2022, North Sea ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Do you keep a physical journal when you travel? I do! It makes a nice keepsake, plus it helps me compost my experiences and keep research notes.

    Lately, I’m fond of these cheap 100-page, 9x6 inch spiral notebooks. On one side, I keep a daily scrapbook with a few brief notes.

    The ship issues a daily schedule, so I cut the date out of that and paste or tape it into the page. I jot a few brief notes with daily highlights and add anything pertinent, like small maps, receipts, and other ephemera. It’s a tidy little summation of our daily activities. (I also have a separate bag for naps I’ve collected along the way and may refer back to.)

    Pretty straight forward, right?

    Here’s my personal quirk, though. I also flip the notebook over and start writing in it from the other side, as well. This side is for random thoughts, research notes, possible blog post topics, observations, rants, to-do lists, doodles, daydreams, and so forth.

    It’s messy, but that’s fine. To me, this side is a compost pile for ideas.

    When the two halves of the notebook meet in the middle, I start a new notebook. Seems to take about a month.

    How about you? Do you keep any sort of physical journal or scapbook? What’s your technique?    En savoir plus

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  • Tui SniderJune 2022Voyageur

    Pink Cameron Tam

    16 juin 2022, Norwegian Sea ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    I’m coming home with a very special souvenir this trip! Here’s how it came about:

    The more cruises you take with a specific line, the higher your status becomes. With each trip, you climb the ladder and earn different rewards. It’s a way to create brand loyalty, and every cruise line has their own spin on it.

    On the first leg of our cruise, we met a couple named Susan and Mike who have Elite status on Princess. This is the highest rank on the customer ladder and means they get all sorts of spiffy perks, such as free laundry service, a complimentary mini bar, and so on.

    One Sea Day afternoon, Susan and Mike invited us to their balcony suite for another Elite benefit, a complimentary High Tea. While chatting over tea and scones, we learned that Susan is of Scottish ancestry on her mother’s side. Not only that, but her family belonged to the same clan as my ancestors, the Camerons. Who knows? Maybe Susan and I are distant cousins!

    To top it off, literally and figuratively, Susan’s mom loved hats as much as I do. At her memorial, Susan displayed dozens of them in the church. After the service, she invited each attendee to choose a hat as a keepsake. Even though several years have passed, Susan still sees people wearing her mom’s hats around town.

    Isn’t that a great idea?

    Later in the cruise, Susan gave me one of her mom’s precious hats, a cute little pink tam upon which she added a Canadian flag pin. In addition to making a wonderful new friend, I feel honored to add her mother’s Cameron tam to my personal hat collection.

    p.s. I’ll add a pic of me wearing the tam later!    En savoir plus

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